Whispers and Kisses
by iluvdimples314
Summary: Todd wakes up with a migraine... Neil to the rescue! Shamelessly fluffy slash with a generous handful of hurt/comfort and a super-dee-duper special reward for reviewers. My first attempt at Dead Poets Society fanfiction. Penny for your thoughts.


**Greetings, Earthlings. JD here. This is my first tentative step into DPS fandom, and I hope you enjoy it.**

**This story is dedicated to Blackbirdox, with whom I share a brain. She's the most amazing person I've never met. **

**Please feel free to leave critical reviews. Hit me with your best shot. I'm totally new at this, and I'm never going to improve without advice. So please, don't ignore that rectangular green button. If you can find it in your heart to spend thirty seconds sharing your thoughts, I'll be unimaginably grateful.**

**Oh, yeah. Disclaimer time. I've been forgetting these for a while now. So may everyone out there please be informed that I do not own anything, or anyone, that I write about. But if anyone can pull some strings with whoever has custody of Todd Anderson, I'm willing to negotiate. **

**Anyways, without further ado...**

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Todd Anderson has never been one to sleep in. There's something about rising with the sun that has always appealed to his subconscious. Then again, it may be something about rising with Neil Perry that appeals to his subconscious. Todd can't be sure.

But this particular morning is different. Todd awakes with a blinding pain in the left side of his head. He crawls deeper under his covers, trying to shut out any sliver of sunlight. Each creak of the mattress pounds his brain like a sledgehammer. He has never experienced anything like this before. Not even when Jeffrey whacked him over the head with a building block eleven years ago.

Todd moans inwardly as the sound of squeaking floorboards reaches his ears. He feels the edge of his bed sink under the weight of Neil's wiry frame.

"Hey, you," Neil chirrups.

Burrowing further beneath the covers, Todd winces. He tries to form coherent words, but all that escapes his lips is an anguished groan.

"Todd? Anybody home?" Neil inquires playfully, peeking beneath the woolen blankets. All he can see is the top of Todd's head, covered in haphazard bronze tresses. He stands up, yanks the bedclothes off theatrically, and emits a barbaric yawp.

Searing white pain shoots through Todd's head, momentarily halting rational thought. Every cell in his body screams in agony. He curls into a ball and buries his face in the mattress, whimpering softly.

A look of concern spreads across Neil's angular façade. He lowers himself back onto the bed and places a hand on Todd's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he whispers.

Todd slips a hand over his eyes and turns onto his side. "My head… is killing me," he murmurs under his breath, grimacing as his own voice resonates inside his skull.

Neil throws his roommate's pillow to the floor and crawls onto the bed to sit cross-legged. He leans back to rest his torso against the headboard, wordlessly watching the unsteady rise and fall of Todd's chest.

Jaw clenched tightly, Todd creeps closer. He locates Neil's knee with his free hand. Todd leans ever-so-slightly forward, and he feels Neil's hands gingerly guide his head to rest in his lap. Sighing deeply, Todd covers his eyes with a flap of Neil's pajama bottoms. "Mhmmm," he purrs.

Neil grins and strokes Todd's temple cautiously with his index finger. He senses no opposition, so he runs his fingers gently through Todd's hair. "You okay, buddy?" he inquires under his breath.

There is no audible response from Todd, only an extended hand.

Neil reaches out to intertwine Todd's fingers with his own. He feels his clammy palm, and utters no complaint when Todd squeezes his hand with uncomfortable pressure. "Todd, can I do anything?" he whispers. Neil has never seen his roommate so out-of-sorts, and he feels desperately helpless.

Todd's face has taken up a pallid sheen. His Adam's apple bobs visibly as he repeatedly swallows, to no avail. Quivering slightly, Todd takes a deep breath in preparation for his next sentence. "You can get me to the bathroom."

Several thoughts ricochet obnoxiously around Neil's skull. Todd is in no condition to walk, that's for sure. He could prop him up in the desk chair and wheel him to the lavatory, he thinks. But he isn't sure Todd is even capable of sitting upright at this point. "I'm going to have to carry you," Neil reports.

Todd is fully prepared to protest, but Neil is already slipping out from under him. He scrunches his eyes tightly shut and bites his bottom lip as Neil's hands slide under his shaking body.

With bated breath, Neil pulls Todd to his chest. He feels his roommate's head settle into the crook of his neck. Careful not to jostle his precious cargo, Neil tiptoes out into the hallway. _Look left, look right, look left again, then go,_ he thinks. _Just like crossing the street_. When he decides the corridor is void of curious eyes, he tenderly shifts his passenger so he can turn the brass handle of the bathroom door. He knows better than to flick the light switch.

Todd's stomach churns frantically as Neil lowers him down onto the frigid linoleum floor. He gropes blindly for the toilet bowl and crawls forward when his fingers meet porcelain. Todd's back arches and he retches loudly, but nothing emerges from his throat except bitter bile. He coughs and spits, hot tears welling in his eyes. Never in his life has he felt this miserable.

Neil's bushy chestnut eyebrows furrow together. He scrambles to Todd's side and places a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. His heart is literally aching with empathy, and it's all he can do to maintain composure.

Todd feels muscular arms slide around his waist, and he leans backwards into Neil's welcoming embrace. The nausea is gone, but the pulsing pain in his head continues to grow in intensity. An anguished whimper escapes from his lips. If Neil weren't there, he would curl into a ball and pray for death. But there is a microscopic part of him that's willing to forgo any level of agony if it supplies him with an excuse to be enveloped in his best friend's arms.

Neil watches a glimmering tear drip from Todd's eyelashes. He tries to verbalize his sympathy, but nothing coherent can make its way past the swelling lump in his gullet. Closing his chocolate-brown eyes, Neil rests his chin on Todd's shoulder and sighs. All he wants to do is absorb all the discomfort from Todd's body and suffer in lieu of his companion, to be a sacrificial lamb of sorts. But until he figures out how to transfer pain from one individual to another, all Neil can do is hold him.

Gnawing at the inside of his lower lip, Todd shivers as cold sweat drips down the back of his neck. Every previously inaudible sound is amplified hundredfold. He can hear the rush of air into his lungs, and he can hear his eyelids clamp together every time he blinks. Todd's only comfort is his companion. With each passing beat of his heart, Todd feels Neil pull him impossibly closer. The end of Todd's suffering seems miles away to both of them, but every step towards the horizon is easier together.

When Neil feels Todd sag in fatigue, he reluctantly untangles his limbs. "I think it's about time we got back to the room," he whispers. "Everyone's gonna wake up soon."

Todd nods and leans forward, allowing Neil to hoist him onto his feet. As the blood rushes out of his head, colorful splotches of light flash before Todd's eyes. Before he knows what is happening, Todd feels Neil's arms grab at his torso.

"Whoa there. You okay?" He gingerly pulls Todd's arm around his own shoulders. "Come on. Your bed awaits you."

A miniature grin spreads across Todd's damp facade. "Bed sounds nice," he whispers.

Neil chuckles under his breath. He hasn't previously believed anyone could make sweaty, bed-headed exhaustion look adorable. But Todd has somehow managed. "How about a quick sink detour?" he inquires.

It takes Todd a moment to proccess this. "Yeah," he responds. After a couple unsteady steps, he leans over to rinse the acidic taste from his mouth.

Neil waits patiently and tightens his grip around his companion's waist. When Todd turns off the water and and leans back into Neil's chest, they remain stationary for a few heartbeats. And then, slowly but surely, Neil guides his wobbling passenger across the hallway and returns him to bed, only slightly worse for wear.

Breathing deeply, Todd whimpers in gratitude as Neil spreads a heavy cotton blanket over his quivering frame. He hears the muffled clack of the shutters and opens a tentative eye. The room is comfortably dark now, but Todd can still make out his companion's outline. "Thanks," he murmurs.

Neil lowers himself onto the edge of the bed and places a comforting hand on Todd's cheek. "No problem." He gnaws thoughtfully at his lower lip for a moment. "You know, I think I have some aspirin buried in my dresser somewhere. Might help a little."

Todd nods passionately, and he feels Neil vacate the bed. He hears the squeak of a bureau drawer, the creak of careful footsteps, the click of a faucet knob. And before he can count to twenty, Neil has re-appeared. Todd props himself up on an elbow and feels two chalky tablets pressed into his palm. He obediently places them on his tongue and waits for Neil to hand him the glass of water, swallowing a hearty gulp.

Neil takes the half-full glass from Todd and places it on the nightstand. He picks up his desk chair and places it flush against the bed, sitting down wordlessly. There is just enough light in the room to reflect a tiny sparkle in each of Todd's stormy blue eyes. Neil's attention span has never been extensive by any means, but he would happily stare at Todd until the day he dies.

Todd sighs softly and rolls over to the edge of his bed, burying his face in Neil's chest. He inhales the soapy fragrance that he has come to know as Neil Scent. For a moment, pain evacuates his brain to be replaced by euphoria. He wishes he could bottle this smell and spray it on his pillow every night. But Todd supposes that the pilfered tee-shirt he keeps tucked away in his sock drawer will have to suffice when Neil isn't there to say goodnight in person.

With an affectionate grin spread across his face, Neil leans over and presses a tender kiss to Todd's temple.

Todd rolls onto his back and stares up at his companion for a moment. He knows every angle and eyelash by heart, but Neil's face is especially breathtaking in the pale sunlight leaking through the windowpanes. Todd reaches up to pull Neil's head closer to his own, and captures his supple lips in a warm kiss.

Neil responds eagerly, deepening the kiss until the need for oxygen forces them to pull apart.

And just as if they had been rehearsing this moment for weeks, the two boys whisper in perfect unison:

"_Carpe diem_."

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**Reviewers will be rewarded with a complementary bottle of Neil Scent. Need I say more?**

**~JD**


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